I thought I would share this article on arrests in Zimbabwe for attending a lecture on Egypt and its revolt. Some things will never change, and Old Bob will certainly, as Ghadaffi said yesterday, die fighting. And meanwhile, the African Union has still said nothing about events in Libya....
QUOTE
Zimbabwe police arrest 46 attending lecture session on uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia
By Angus Shaw, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – Tue, 22 Feb, 2011 10:38 PM EST
HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwean police detained 46 people, including a former lawmaker, for attending a lecture and discussion group on mass uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, an independent lawyers group said Monday.
Police confirmed the arrests at a meeting convened Saturday by the Zimbabwe branch of the International Socialist Organization where videos were shown and an agenda item allegedly asked: "What lessons can be learnt by the working class in Zimbabwe and Africa?"
Police spokesman James Sabau told state radio that authorities would clamp down on any alleged plotters of "destabilization" against the government.
The independent Lawyers for Human Rights said those detained in Harare and expected to appear in court on Monday were holding an "academic discussion" on North Africa and deny any wrongdoing.
The group said police were drafting charges Monday against former opposition lawmaker Munyaradi Gwisai, an official of the International Socialist Organization, and labour and student activists arrested with him.
Police say attendees called for solidarity with Egyptian and Tunisian workers and intended to incite Zimbabweans to hold demonstrations against three decades of authoritarian rule by President Robert Mugabe.
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley criticized the arrests in a comment posted to Twitter.
"Activists meet in Zimbabwe to discuss the implications of Egypt and Tunisia and end up arrested. Mugabe did not learn the right lessons," Crowley wrote.
The protests at the northern tip of the continent have drawn attention elsewhere in southern Africa. In Malawi, a university professor in the eastern city of Zomba was questioned by a senior police officer after he reportedly drew parallels in his classroom between protests over fuel shortages in Malawi and the demonstrations that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Professors in Zomba have been on strike since last week, demanding that police apologize and pledge not to repeat such a questioning.
Zimbabwe's Mugabe, meanwhile, turned 87 Monday. He returned home Sunday from a weeklong trip to Singapore where he underwent medical checks after a cataract operation on a previous visit in January, his office said.
State radio said Mugabe will celebrate his birthday on Saturday with children and young leaders, an annual tradition, the radio said, that encourages young people to follow his example as a statesman. On Monday, state TV showed him blowing out candles.
Mugabe arrived quietly Sunday and broke with his tradition by not addressing his supporters who had gathered at the main Harare airport to greet him.
Mugabe's party has denied reports he underwent cancer-related surgery during an extended vacation in Asia in January.
The party of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the former opposition leader in a shaky two-year-old coalition government, says Mugabe's absences have disrupted routine government business since December.
___
Associated Press Writer Raphael Tenthani contributed to this report from Blantyre, Malawi.
UNQUOTE
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Revolt in the Arab World, interesting reading in French
I am sharing a letter I have written to an old friend of mine who lives in Turkey on an interesting article on the revolution in the Arab World.
Dear Benoit:
Many thanks for the link. (http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2011/02/12/revolution-post-islamiste_1478858_3232.html) It is definitely a very interesting perspective on what is going on in the Arab World these past weeks. I have a few comments to the text, which is of course in French in the original.
The very first comment is that that the Author seems to look at Islam as a unified religion, which it is not. Shiites are in no way the same as Sunnis, and even if for both Religion is the basis for the whole political, economic and legal organization of society, Shiesm is fundamentally incompatible with Western democracy as we know and enjoy it.
I agree when he says that the Muslim Brotherhood has changed and evolved. It has gone in two different directions, radicalism and Al-Qaida, and moderation, which I hope is the most extended of the two.
Turkey, incidentally, has given the lead in a secular political system which others should follow.
I also agree when he mentions the social problems - higher education and high unemployment- that make the difference this time. However, I do not agree with his assessment of former President Bush’s Democracy Initiative. I would recommend you to google Condy Rice’s column on this issue on the NY Times or the Washington Post last week. I cannot agree either with the author when he says that President Obama’s policy is “ pragmatic”. I think the current US Administration is far too interested in the internal political repercussions of its foreign policy actions to be considered serious or reasonable.
Finally, I would very much agree and support his view that the massive islamization of society in the Arab World in the past 30 years has not led to a political radicalization. The paradox, as he correctly points out, is that islamization has depoliticized Islam. This can be nothing but good news. Maybe in the near future the individual will become the centre of attention in Muslim societies. That would really allow those societies to break away from the burdens they have suffered for the past few centuries.
Amitiés
Santiago
Dear Benoit:
Many thanks for the link. (http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2011/02/12/revolution-post-islamiste_1478858_3232.html) It is definitely a very interesting perspective on what is going on in the Arab World these past weeks. I have a few comments to the text, which is of course in French in the original.
The very first comment is that that the Author seems to look at Islam as a unified religion, which it is not. Shiites are in no way the same as Sunnis, and even if for both Religion is the basis for the whole political, economic and legal organization of society, Shiesm is fundamentally incompatible with Western democracy as we know and enjoy it.
I agree when he says that the Muslim Brotherhood has changed and evolved. It has gone in two different directions, radicalism and Al-Qaida, and moderation, which I hope is the most extended of the two.
Turkey, incidentally, has given the lead in a secular political system which others should follow.
I also agree when he mentions the social problems - higher education and high unemployment- that make the difference this time. However, I do not agree with his assessment of former President Bush’s Democracy Initiative. I would recommend you to google Condy Rice’s column on this issue on the NY Times or the Washington Post last week. I cannot agree either with the author when he says that President Obama’s policy is “ pragmatic”. I think the current US Administration is far too interested in the internal political repercussions of its foreign policy actions to be considered serious or reasonable.
Finally, I would very much agree and support his view that the massive islamization of society in the Arab World in the past 30 years has not led to a political radicalization. The paradox, as he correctly points out, is that islamization has depoliticized Islam. This can be nothing but good news. Maybe in the near future the individual will become the centre of attention in Muslim societies. That would really allow those societies to break away from the burdens they have suffered for the past few centuries.
Amitiés
Santiago
Friday, February 4, 2011
A few quick thoughts on events in Egypt
A few thoughts on what is happening in Egypt since January 25th:
1.- The dilemma the US is facing is trying to balance national security concerns and the moral responsibility to stand with those who have the courage to oppose authoritarian rulers.
2.- Politicians like stability. Bankers like stability. But the stability we have so long embraced in the Arab World, wasn’t really stability, it was repression. The democratic movement is unfolding so quickly that Washington has been on the brink of being left behind. Yes, Obama has been close to ending up on the wrong side of history.
3.- More books are translated each year into Greek, a language spoken by only 10 million people, than into Arabic, spoken by more than 220 million people. Who has benefited from keeping their populations in the dark ages culture-wise?
4.- Arabs may not be calling for democracy as it is known in the West, but they are demanding better rule of law, equitable treatment and far less corruption.
5.- Across the turbulent Arab World it is a paradox that strong armies are now platforms for change.
6.- It is encouraging that the demonstrations are not being used to attack the US and Israel, as seemed to be always the case in previous decades. And it is also encouraging that fundamentalism has not been the seemingly major force behind the revolts, at least up to now. It might just be true that the reasons are the quest for basic human needs and dignity. People want jobs and goods.
7.- The West keeps on regarding the area between Rabat and Jakarta as the belly of the world, and stuffed with explosives.
8.- It is encouraging to see that Israel has finally reacted and the PM has said that a democratic Egypt is not a threat for peace. Up to now the impression was that Israel was happy with its regional monopoly concerning democracy in an ocean of tyrannies. And that they were ready to keep it that way as long as possible.
1.- The dilemma the US is facing is trying to balance national security concerns and the moral responsibility to stand with those who have the courage to oppose authoritarian rulers.
2.- Politicians like stability. Bankers like stability. But the stability we have so long embraced in the Arab World, wasn’t really stability, it was repression. The democratic movement is unfolding so quickly that Washington has been on the brink of being left behind. Yes, Obama has been close to ending up on the wrong side of history.
3.- More books are translated each year into Greek, a language spoken by only 10 million people, than into Arabic, spoken by more than 220 million people. Who has benefited from keeping their populations in the dark ages culture-wise?
4.- Arabs may not be calling for democracy as it is known in the West, but they are demanding better rule of law, equitable treatment and far less corruption.
5.- Across the turbulent Arab World it is a paradox that strong armies are now platforms for change.
6.- It is encouraging that the demonstrations are not being used to attack the US and Israel, as seemed to be always the case in previous decades. And it is also encouraging that fundamentalism has not been the seemingly major force behind the revolts, at least up to now. It might just be true that the reasons are the quest for basic human needs and dignity. People want jobs and goods.
7.- The West keeps on regarding the area between Rabat and Jakarta as the belly of the world, and stuffed with explosives.
8.- It is encouraging to see that Israel has finally reacted and the PM has said that a democratic Egypt is not a threat for peace. Up to now the impression was that Israel was happy with its regional monopoly concerning democracy in an ocean of tyrannies. And that they were ready to keep it that way as long as possible.
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